CHICAGO - In the past year, 40% of consumers have cut back on away-from-home dinner purchases, largely because they have less money to spend on dining out, according to Technomic??s "Dinner and Late-Night Consumer Trend Report." When weighing dine-out options, today??s consumers are more likely to choose restaurants based on the availability of frequent diner programs (31% versus 23% in 2009) and happy hour deals (24% versus 21% in 2009).
As a result of consumers?? decrease in away-from-home dinner purchases, it is vital for operators and suppliers to stay on top of dinner and late-night trends, such as combo meals, smaller portions or shareable items, in order to more effectively identify opportunities of growth. "It??s imperative for operators to recognize the importance of today??s value equation," said Darren Tristano, Technomic executive vice president, in a press release.
"Drawing dinner and late-night traffic now means exploring new ways to underscore value beyond low prices. Operators may be able to boost dinner sales by strengthening their overall value with other pricing strategies, such as specials or combo meals," he said.
The "Dinner and Late-Night Consumer Trend Report" found that 71% of consumers skip dinner at least sometimes, citing lack of hunger or eating a late lunch instead of dinner, which could allow for smaller portions or shareable menu items as opportunities for operators to boost incremental traffic and sales during the dinner daypart.
Operators and suppliers are emphasizing late-night menus by developing a new mix of craveable options to draw customers in after hours. Smaller portions, mix-and-match options, and shareable samplers meet the needs of a younger millennial customer base that tends to congregate over food and drinks during late-night hours.
Value is the key positioning for dinner entrées in limited-service restaurants. Lower-priced items that can easily be bundled for a quick and affordable meal for one person or a whole family are the focus for limited-service restaurant dinner menus.
Full-service restaurants are promoting dinner values, with bundled meals and affordably priced family dinners to go, while also emphasizing "premium" as part of the value equation for entrées. To boost check averages, adult beverages, appetizers and desserts are also essential marketing components for full-service restaurants.